BioNTech, Genevant partner to send mRNA therapies to the liver

A pair of deals between BioNTech AG (Mainz, Germany) and Genevant Sciences will propel mRNA-based therapeutics for rare diseases into the clinic as soon as 2020 and allow BioNTech to harness the liver's robust protein production capacity. Genevant, which launched in April, is an RNA-based therapeutics company jointly owned by Roivant Sciences GmbH (Basel, Switzerland) and Arbutus Biopharma Corp. (NASDAQ:ABUS).

BioNTech and Genevant will co-develop and co-commercialize on a 50/50 split five mRNA-based therapies for undisclosed rare diseases using...